I'm Lucia Livia Plauta. I was born in Rome, lived in Turin for most of my youth, and now, since 15 years, I live in Budapest, Hungary.

I've always been interested in archaeology, specially greek and roman.
Like a lot of italians, I studied Latin and ancient Greek at high school. Unfortunately that was more than 20 years ago, so my knowledge is a bit rusty by now. However, I found ancient Greek is a big help in studying modern Greek, which is my current project.
I love re-enacting, specially military re-enacting, even though I only had one short chance so far to wear legionary armour. But I have some experience in japanese martial arts (iaido) and love all kinds of weapons.
Unfortunately roman military re-enacting (if historically correct) is forcibly limited to men, and I find that virtually changing sex and calling myself Livius Plautus wouldn't be a satisfactory solution.

For 15 years I taught Italian, however I am now in the midst of a career change and thinking of setting up a business producing and selling replicas of ancient roman and greek artifacts (from jewellery, to pottery, to clothes).

Some of you may know me from Nova Roma, where I've been a citizen for more or less one year, and where I'm currently holding the office of tribuna plebis.
I joined because I'm very interested in Religio Romana (to say I'm practicing would be an exaggeration, but I'm trying), and because I would like to meet like-minded people.
While I learned about SVR quite soon after joining Nova Roma, I didn't feel like joining, because it looked pretty useless as a way to meet people in the real world, since membership seems to be confined to some very definite geographical areas, which include neither Hungary nor Italy.

But now I've had my share of real-life meetings in NR, and shortly I will have loads more of them, so I figured some more virtual conversations wouldn't hurt. Specially since, compared to Nova Roma, this community seems a little island of peace.
So I came here in order to have some rest from the continuous flame wars, trials, etc, which plague NR.
Actually what made me decide is the thread in this forum about pets!
So soon I'll be posting photos of my cats.

Nice to meet another woman who is also interested in weapons, military and Martial arts. I do reenactment which involves fighting - I am a gladiatrix which is authentic while we have no proof that female legionaries existed and hence it is difficult to get accepted in any reenactment Legion.

We are spread all over the world so it's hard to meet. I once tried to set up a meeting at the Roman festival in Trier with the Belgian bunch but in the end it did not work out due to time reasons. But we post here Roman events so you could post anything nearby your place (either in Budapest itself or in Carnuntum, for example) and maybe someone else would like to go to that event, too if posted way in advance.

Aldus Marius Peregrinus sum; I'm the Webmaster and Board admin hereabouts, and for some reason am still considered a useful Sodalis. >({|:-)

Ita, we are very different from Nova Roma, chiefly in the near-total absence of politics, let alone political animosity. Our three-to-seven Curatores serve for two years; we just elected a fresh batch, so you will be spared even that small exercise of civic duty 'til late MMDCCLXII (2009 CE) at the earliest, unless someone comes up with a neat idea for a rogatio in the meantime.

What we have instead are Romans-in-Spirit and viatores who like talking to them. This Societas is for them. We have friendly and fascinating discussions on almost every aspect of Roman life, both ancient and modern. We talk about Rome, and being a Roman, and that leads us to share about our personal lives (including pets! <g>)...because, for us, it's all the same thing. We teach and learn from each other. (Our Collegium Religionem is a shining example of this cooperative atmosphere.) Every encounter here, however seemingly trivial, has the potential to widen and/or deepen the member's Roman experience.

We're just beginning efforts at more in-person activity and outreach; there's a whole section of the Board dedicated to the Roman Gatherings we plan, attend, or just like to hear of. I'll be doing things in the Texas/Oklahoma region, at least, until the Curatores tell me to stop. >({|;-)

For your reenactor fix, you might try visiting the Women Military Reenactor's Homepage. More than a compendium of practical tips, there are also food-for-thought essays about womens' place in the historical military and in the living-history movement. If that relights your fire, I have a list of reenactor Legions that do accept female members as soldiers. It's sorely in need of an update (and I'm willing to do the legwork if you'd like me to), but it's a beginning.

Salvete Cleopatra Aelia et Alde Mari,
actually my problem with re-enactment is place-specific. Strangely enough, there are no legions in Budapest (though there are at least three in Hungary). There are gladiators, but I feel it's beneath my dignity as a free person and roman citizen to be a gladiator (apart from the fact that I'm a bit too old for the kind of training those gladiators do over here ...).
Also, I don't like staged fights, which is what our local gladiators do (it looks very artificial).
I used to practice a local variety of iaido where we had non-staged duels and battles (with wooden weapons), so I'm not interested in dancing.

I've been thinking of founding my own brand of roman martial art, something like the sports people practiced in palaestrae and thermae, but it would take getting over a big inertia on my part, and also a huge time committment. So for the moment I'm just becoming a fat matrona ...

As for the kitties, I'm afraid posting the photos is not as easy as I thought. It looks as if I can't post the photos themselves here, but only a link, so they'd have to be on a website first.

Anyway, for personal meetings, if anyone wants to meet me you're welcome in Budapest, but around the 20th of April I will be in Rome for the feriae latinae and the natalis urbis.
If any of you europeans want to come, this is a good occasion and a favourable year to be in Rome. The local Nova Romans (Pomerium association) will meet there, along with other roman organizations. There's a big program of celebrations with legions, etc. and the feriae latinae will be celebrated on mount Albano in a ceremony organized by Piscinus.
Lots of places are open that were closed in the past (forum Traiani, domus aurea, domus Augusti). Personally I'm going to stay there a while and visit everything I missed in the past.

If anyone wants to post images that are not already online somewhere else, send me a PM (private message, available through this Board). I'll slip you my e-addy; you can then send me the images and I'll put them on the SVR server. (That's actually been standard practice for years; Tibi Draco'll tell you sometime about all those avatars I shipped him back when he was running the site.) >({|:-)

We're participating in the Feriae Latinae too; Consul Piscinus will be meeting the SVR's mid-America contingent, as well as other Novaromani and The Roman Way (a civilian-reenactment outfit in Texas), in Austin for the weekend. The cool thing about it will be the attention it draws to the interconnectedness of *all* Roman societies. It's silly to behave as if other groups are "the competition"; almost everyone attending our gathering is a member of two or more such organisations, and Quintus Servilius is in all three mentioned.

Aldus Marius wrote:If anyone wants to post images that are not already online somewhere else, send me a PM (private message, available through this Board). I'll slip you my e-addy; you can then send me the images and I'll put them on the SVR server. (That's actually been standard practice for years; Tibi Draco'll tell you sometime about all those avatars I shipped him back when he was running the site.)

Just wanted to chime in and mention that, should Marius ever be unavailable, you can always go ahead and PM me. If you find it too much of a hassle to PM and send everything, you could always try one of the free hosting sites. I've been using photobucket for some time now and never had any complaints.

I'm intrigued by your mention of Roman martial arts. We had a thread about it some time ago but there never was any mention of a truely Roman based martial art. I'd be interested to hear what you've got to say on the matter.

L. Livia Plauta wrote:Salvete Cleopatra Aelia et Alde Mari,actually my problem with re-enactment is place-specific. Strangely enough, there are no legions in Budapest (though there are at least three in Hungary). There are gladiators, but I feel it's beneath my dignity as a free person and roman citizen to be a gladiator (apart from the fact that I'm a bit too old for the kind of training those gladiators do over here ...).Also, I don't like staged fights, which is what our local gladiators do (it looks very artificial).I used to practice a local variety of iaido where we had non-staged duels and battles (with wooden weapons), so I'm not interested in dancing.

Valete,Livia

Too bad Budapest is too far away from Hamburg because we do free fights and if you have a general fitness you could do our training as well. Also I'm in desperate need of another gladiatrix Actually, free Roman citizens indeed signed up as gladiators, the so-called auctorati (volunteers). If you ever make it to Hamburg (always worth a visit even though there are no Roman things ) just let me know and we could do a gladiatorial training if you want.

Salve Cleopatra Aelia,
well, I still feel being a gladiatrix is beneath the dignity of a roman citizen.
Anyway the free fight sound interesting, so if I ever go in the direction of Hamburg I'll give it a try.
On the other hand if you and your fellow gladiators feel like coming to Pannonia you're welcome.
Livia

Salve Marce Apolloni,
I can't help you for travelling to roman festivals (though you could have a look at www.couchsurfing.com for free accomodation), but give me two years' time and I might be able to help you with the "not being able to buy things" problem.
My intention is to set up a company to produce low-cost, but historically correct reproductions of roman everyday objects, from clothes to metal objects, to pottery.
I know apparently "historically correct" and "low cost" are incompatible concepts, but actually much of the things you can buy out there are vastly overpriced, so for similar prices I could produce much more historically correct objects, or I could produce stuff that looks OK for much lower prices.
Currently I am at the stage of research and building of contacts, but I do have already a fibula reproduction for sale, if anyone is interested.
Vale,
Livia

Look forward to seeing what you might have to offer. How true about things being overly priced.
Be sure to advertise on here .

Vale mi amici!

Silvanus

L. Livia Plauta wrote:Salve Marce Apolloni,I can't help you for travelling to roman festivals (though you could have a look at www.couchsurfing.com for free accomodation), but give me two years' time and I might be able to help you with the "not being able to buy things" problem.My intention is to set up a company to produce low-cost, but historically correct reproductions of roman everyday objects, from clothes to metal objects, to pottery.I know apparently "historically correct" and "low cost" are incompatible concepts, but actually much of the things you can buy out there are vastly overpriced, so for similar prices I could produce much more historically correct objects, or I could produce stuff that looks OK for much lower prices.Currently I am at the stage of research and building of contacts, but I do have already a fibula reproduction for sale, if anyone is interested.Vale,Livia

Salvete amici,
last sunday there was a little roman event here in Budapest, so in this photo you can see me in my (not yet perfect) roman garb, posing in front of a working reproduction of the most famous roman object in Budapest, the Aquincum hydraulis, that is the water organ that belonged to the vigiles of Aquincum.
Now you can see for yourself if I look like my avatar!
On my shoulders, I'm wearing the fibula reproductions I made, the same shown on the photo below.

I so enjoy seeing the real folks behind the avatars! And that is a most pleasing sort of attire.

Now I have to go back and research Roman women's clothing in order to appreciate it. UNLESS, of course, you could educate me about it in a reply! White tunic, red ______, and violet ____ attached at the shoulders.

Salve Valeri Claudi,
now, the clothes on me weren't particularly historically accurate ...
The thing is, I have very little advance warning before the event, and I realized I had no warm stola appropriate for the weather. So I made one by sowing together two pashmina scarves, but, alas, I didn't have two scarves the same color.
I'm going to make more historically accurate clothes, but none of the materials needed can be bought here in Hungary (pure wool or linen, madder for dying). So far here I have the required materials for one set of summer clothes (tunica intima, tunica, stola, palla) and (hopefully) enough madder to dye them red before I go to Rome. I hate white, as I suppose most roman women did, as one can surmise from the colourful portrayals in frescoes.
If you have questions about roman clothing feel free to ask, even though my knowledge mostly comes from online sources, so I'm afraid I'm not wiser than anyone else here.
Vale,
Livia